"Rafael Nadal reached very high level of tennis already in 16, 17" - When Novak Djokovic spoke about Spaniard "maturing faster" than his generation

Novak Djokovic once claimed that Rafael Nadal matured faster than his generation, and that he was an exception.

At the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup (now known as the ATP Finals) in Shanghai, Djokovic endured a disappointing tournament as he lost all of his matches and was eliminated in the round-robin. Having already lost to David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet, the Serb dropped his last match of the tournament 6-4, 6-4 to Rafael Nadal.

In his post-match press conference, Djokovic was asked if he felt the Spaniard looked more mature than other players who were around the same age as him. The then-20-year-old responded that Nadal reached a high level of tennis when he was only 16 or 17, unlike the rest of his generation.

"Well, depends, of course. If we are talking about his maturity on the court, he reached the very high level of the tennis already in age of, what, 16, 17. He matured much faster than his generation. You know, he's exception," the Serb said.

He also added that Nadal's exploits at only 21, which included three Grand Slams, were why he deserved to be World No. 2.

"Of course, you don't see many players lie that reaching second place of the world already at the age of 18, 19. He's already there for many years. He won three Grand Slams. He played a lot of finals, semifinals, so for sure he deserves to be there," Djokovic said.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have faced each other 5 times at the ATP Finals

Rafael Nadal at the 2023 Australian Open

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have faced off thrice at the ATP Finals, with the latter winning three and the former winning the other two.

The round-robin match in 2007 was their very first encounter at the season-ending tournament. They then locked horns at the same stage in 2009 and 2010, with Djokovic winning 7-6(5), 6-3 before Nadal beat him 7-5, 6-2.

The only time the two met in the final of the ATP Finals was in 2013, and the Serb won 6-3, 6-4 to successfully defend his title. Their last meeting at the season-ending tournament was in the 2015 semifinals, and Djokovic triumphed 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final, where he defeated Roger Federer to win the tournament for the fourth successive time.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic haven't faced each other since their quarterfinal clash at the 2022 French Open, which the Spaniard won 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4).